Feds: Faked Mil Service Attempt to Cheat Mortgage

Orlando Sentinel

No lie was too big to tell for an Orlando woman who wanted a new home in Pensacola, but didn't want to pay the mortgage for her Orlando home, federal officials said.

Chantal M. Lanton, 37, of Orlando is accused of falsely claiming to be an officer in the United States Air Force who was being deployed to Germany when she let her home loan go into default in February 2011.

She did so in an attempt to receive foreclosure-protection benefits that are available for service members, federal officials said.

Lanton never served in the Air Force or any other branch of the U.S. military, officials said.

Lanton pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of making false statements to a bank while applying for a residential loan and mortgage, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Wanting to leave Orlando and purchase a home in Pensacola, Lanton applied for a residential loan with Regions Bank in March 2005.

Investigators discovered she allegedly lied on her application, inflating her income and the extent of her education and provided false information about her debts, federal officials said.

As a result of her guilty plea, she faces a possible sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million on each count.

Lanton is scheduled for a sentencing hearing with Chief U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers on Aug. 8.